Elias Motsoaledi

Elias Mathope Motsoaledi OMSG (26 July 1924 – 9 May 1994) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. He was Accused No.9 in the Rivonia Trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 1963 with a group of anti-Apartheid revolutionaries which included Nelson Mandela who was Accused No.1.

Early life Elias Motsoaledi was born on 26 July 1924, the third of eight children, in Phokoane in the Nebo District in Sekhukuneland, now Limpopo. He moved to Johannesburg at the age of 17 in search of work. His first brush with the law in Johannesburg was his arrest for failure to produce his pass book, and he was sentenced to work on the construction of a road in Pretoria.

Upon his release he got a job in a furniture factory.

Activism Trade union movement Motsoaledi joined the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) in 1945 and then the African National Congress (ANC) in 1948. He soon became involved with trade unions. He joined the Leather Workers' Union in 1949, served as chairman of the Committee of Non-European Trade Unions (CNETU), which was formed in 1941. He was elected chairperson of CNETU in 1953. later played an active role in the establishment of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (COSATU).

After 26 years on Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison, Motsoaledi was released from prison on 15 October 1989 along with four others who were Sisulu, Mlangeni, Mhlaba and Kathrada; also together with Wilton Mkwayi, who had been incarcerated for 25 years after being convicted in the Little Rivonia Trial; Oscar Mpetha, imprisoned for more than 6 years; and co-founder and former leader of the Pan Africanist Congress Jafta Masemola after he had been imprisoned for 27 years. During the July 1991 National Conference, Motsoaledi was elected to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC.

Recognition Motsoaledi received an Isitwalandwe Medal on 8 January 1992 along with Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Helen Joseph, Ahmed Kathrada, Harry Gwala, Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba, and Wilton Mkwayi.

The Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality in Limpopo province was named after him.

Death and legacy He died on 9 May 1994, aged 69, the day before Mandela was inaugurated as the President of South Africa.

At Mostoaledi's funeral, Mandela spoke of him as follows: